Bangkok

HHL student Manuel Bender spending a semester at the Asian Institute of Technology

At the international educational fair in a Bangkok shopping centre dozens of worldwide universities have set up stands to recruit Thai students. The presentation of German schools is partly the responsibility of the German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst, DAAD), which is represented at the entrance with a large stand. This is where I meet Manuel Bender, who is spending one semester at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) as part of his Master of Science studies at the HHL - Leipzig Graduate School of Management.

How does a student in Leipzig get the idea to study in this part of the world? “I applied specifically to Asia because it’s one of the incredibly interesting markets,” explains Manuel. His arrival in Bangkok was not a culture shock since he had once been on a nine-week backpacking tour of Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. “That teaches you very quickly to deal with extremes,” according to the HHL student. The openness and friendliness of the people in this region moved him to want to find out what it would be like to live in such a country for a longer time and not just on holiday.

I am curious of his conclusions after the first weeks here. “It is totally different – in a positive sense,” Manuel assesses. He has often been asked why he wanted to study in Thailand. “My reply: because it is a challenge. Asian cultures are different,” the temporary Bangkok dweller says. It is not just the food, but mainly personal interaction happens here at a different level. This new, unfamiliar environment is a challenge that takes you further and is good for fostering an open mind. “In real terms, I mean that the new, unfamiliar environment also demands that I break out of my routines and habitual ways of thinking in order to get to know new cultures, gain new experiences and be confronted with unfamiliar situations and things.”

According to Manuel this also involves specific economic and social perspectives. “The circumstances in Thailand and the bordering countries demand social responsibility and economic rethinking. Here, ‘bottom-of-the-pyramid’ business models offer you the chance to use your business skills to improve the general situation of the people,” the student explains. Here, business students are able to couple their business acumen with social responsibility, which “is very desirable for me.”

He cites respect and openness as the things he thinks one can learn from the Thai people, but he has some difficulties getting used to the hierarchies and the losing face. All in all, “I’ve certainly not regretted it; Bangkok is really a great city. And if someone were to ask me now whether I could live here, I’d now reply: I think I can,” says Manuel, who, however, for the time being will have to return to the cold of Germany’s winter in mid-December.